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Stop This One Bad Habit and You’ll Increase Productivity 40 Percent

You know that multitasking is a bad idea. You may even know that frequent multitasking shrinks your brain and lowers your IQ. But did you know that, far from saving you time, multitasking cuts your productivity by a whopping 40 percent?

That frightening number comes from Devora Zack, CEO of Only Connect Consulting, and author most recently of Singletasking: Get More Done–One Thing at a Time. In fact, she notes, there’s actually no such thing as multitasking. You may think you’re taking part in a conference call, writing a report, and texting with your spouse all at the same time, but what your brain is actually doing is switching non-stop among these different activities. That’s costing you both efficiency and brain cells.

The problem is, like many things, multitasking may be bad for you but it feels really good. That’s because as you switch from task to task, your brain reacts to the feeling of newness with a jolt of dopamine–the same brain chemical that causes heroin addiction.

Fortunately, Zack says, you can get off the multitasking treadmill, and regain your efficiency, not to mention the IQ points you may have lost. Here’s how.